Departure of Aldi leaves supermarket void in South Peoria

Thursday

Dec 26, 2013 at 3:52 PM

PEORIA — The Aldi discount grocery chain is rearranging stores again in the Peoria area. The loss of one of those stores, however, will leave a void in South Peoria when it comes to supermarkets, said one neighborhood activist.

Steve Tarter Journal Star city of Peoria reporter @SteveTarter

PEORIA — The Aldi discount grocery chain is rearranging stores again in the Peoria area. The loss of one of those stores, however, will leave a void in South Peoria when it comes to supermarkets, said one neighborhood activist.

The German-owned company will close stores on 210 S. Western Ave. and at 250 S. Main St. in East Peoria on Jan. 23 and open a new store in the East Peoria Levee District the following day.

Last year, Aldi closed two Peoria outlets — on Sterling Avenue and on War Memorial Drive — while opening a new store at 3416 N. University St.

The new East Peoria store — set to open Jan. 24 at 251 Clock Tower Drive — will have higher ceilings and environmentally-friendly building materials "such as recycled materials and energy-saving refrigeration and light bulbs," noted Aldi division vice president Heather Moore in a statement.

Employees at the two stores that are closing will be transferred to other stores in the Peoria area, Moore stated.

Both stores being closed have operated at their respective locations since the 1980s. The Aldi store at 250 S. Main St. in East Peoria opened in January 1984, while the Western Ave. store opened in June 1989.

Dorothy Wendland, a resident of South Peoria, said she's shopped at the Aldi store on Western since it opened.

"I like the store's quality," she said Thursday morning as she wheeled her shopping cart down a store aisle.

Wendland said she would probably shop at the Aldi store on University Street when the Western store closes.

But LaVetta Ricca, president of the Olde Towne South neighborhood organization, said driving to another location was not an option for other South Peoria residents.

"There are a lot of people down here that don't have cars. They have to walk, ride the bus or depend on others (to buy groceries)," she said.

Ricca called the Aldi closing a disaster for area residents.

"Down here, it's not like any other part of the city. We don't have any other decent grocery stores. This leaves us with nothing," she said.

Ricca said the Aldi store has been a good neighbor.

"They've kept the store up, inside and out. They provide security. There haven't been problems there, and they seem to be busy all the time," she said. "In the past, stores have taken advantage of locating in a poorer section of town. Aldi never did that.

"I know (1st District City Councilwoman) Denise Moore has said it's her goal to get another grocery store in here. I hope and pray that we can get another good store in (Aldi's) place."

Steve Tarter can be reached at 686-3260 or starter@pjstar.com. Follow his blog, Minding Business, on pjstar.com and follow him on Twitter @SteveTarter.

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